Enter to win a fabulous Happy Baby Kit from Lilyfern Botanicals with a comment below. Draw date Oct 28th, 2011.

Years ago when expecting my oldest I learned about the benefits and healing properties of essential oils. Quickly adopted into our household were lavender, eucalyptus, and chamomile. Then, this summer I discovered a fab company that uses these same oils and others in a variety of products to sooth and nourish the skin. Lilyfern Botanicals produces fabulous hand-crafted, natural skin care products that promote health and balance.

Happy Baby Kit

I was thrilled when given the Heal Baby Balm and Calm Baby Massage Oil for a review. Now, I no longer have an infant at home, but that didn’t stop the entire family from enjoying these beautifully blended products. Throughout the summer my kids loved using the balm on their mosquito bites: no sting and the itch was immediately gone. We also used the balm on scraped knees, sunburn, dry heals, cuticles and every other skin irritation imaginable. I was continually amazed at how versatile and effective it was and loved the fact that there were no chemicals or other nasty add-ins to harm my family.

The Calm Baby Massage Oil was equally as impressive. It has a lovely light scent and a little goes a long way. When they were little I used to give my babies a massage after every bath to calm and soothe them and really wish I had this handy pump dispenser filled with a mix of nourishing apricot kernel and sesame oil then. For this review I used it on all members  of my family and was impressed with its feel and texture during massage and will definitely be stocking up on more.

Lilyfern Botanicals has generously donated one Happy Baby Kit as a giveaway. The kit includes Heal Baby Balm (25ml), Calm Baby Massage Oil (30 ml), and Clean Baby Body Wash (250 ml).

How to Enter

Enter to win by leaving a comment which mentions one Lilyfern product you’d like to use and why. Visit Lilyfern’s on-line store for full product line.

Additional entries can be made by:

• liking Lilyfern Botanicals on Facebook – comment here letting me know you did
• sharing this contest on Facebook with an @Yogainmyschool.com link – one entry per day allowed
• Tweeting this contest and including an @DonnaKFreeman tag – 3 entries per day allowed at least one hour apart each

Contest ends Friday, October 28th at 9:00 pm MDT. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 48 hours to reply. Winners names will be published here, on Facebook and Twitter.

Read more about Lilyfern Botanicals in this recent Edmonton Journal article.

Lilyfern Botanicals generously donated the products for this review and giveaway. The opinions expressed here are my own.

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Arriving in Montreal in the middle of a blizzard was not the way I anticipated meeting ‘la belle ville.’  Then, having the wrong directions (thank you Google Maps) from the airport to the hotel didn’t help matters. However, it did teach me an eternal truth which has helped to ground me in reality while encouraging me on my life long yoga journey.  The truth is “that you must know where you are coming from, in order to get where you want to go.”

Our map you see, for some reason, which shall forever remain a mystery,  located the airport, in Vieux Montreal, the old historic section of the city close to downtown. However, if you’ve ever been to Montreal you know that Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport is definitely NOT anywhere near Vieux Montreal. So as we set out from the airport we took the wrong freeway through a white out. Only after getting out the old fashioned AMA map and figuring out the exit numbering system were we able to turn ourselves around and make it slowly and carefully, top speeds of 60 km/h (35 mph) on the horrendous roads, back in the correct direction to find our hotel.

As I thought about how important it was to know where we were coming from, I related it to the debate on how old is yoga that has been raging. See YogaDork, elephant journal and Lynda’s Yoga Journey. True in some ways it is inconsequential to know the exact historical advent of the practice. However, a knowledge and understanding of the history and teachings  of yoga is essential to moving forward with a personal practice and being able to comprehend the direction yoga is moving in as it gains popularity.

I think yoga is approached by most people in the western world as a physical practice when they are first introduced to the art. Making some major assumptions here so bear with me. They want a longer, stronger, more flexible body. Heck, its why I first started doing yoga. I was pregnant and my doctor forbade me from continuing with running. Well, fine, I’d find something else. Luckily there was a yoga studio down the street from my flat in Cape Town, South Africa. After one class I was hooked! I remember always coming out of class with more energy than when I walked in, removed my shoes, and grabbed my blocks, blankets and mats (definitely an Iyengar class). I had no idea what Iyengar even meant, but my teacher was fantastic! She challenged, taught, modified poses for my ever increasing girth, and introduced me to yoga in ways which I still strive to pass on to my students almost 14 years later.

During the intervening years I’ve delved a lot deeper into what yoga is and what it means. And luckily for me my yoga practice has changed over time: opening like a precious flower, to bloom in my life and make it more beautiful and wondrous. I know some of the history and continue to learn more. That has helped me to find my way and figure out what yoga means to me on any given day. Sometimes it is a vigorous Ashtanga Primary Series workout, others it is mindfully meditating and practicing pranayama each evening as I walk my dog. Yes, I am a YogaDork and admit it freely and openly.

Regardless of why we first begin our yoga journey, knowing where we are coming from will only help each one of us actually make it to our final destination. So don’t let the blizzard and terrible roads get to you. Break out the map, get going in the ‘right’ direction (one only you can decide upon), and enjoy your lifelong yoga adventure.

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I must admit that these are NOT yoga poses. However, when a friend recently asked for some exercises to help regain her bodacious bod once her latest cutie pie is born, I jumped at a chance to share the exercises that got me through 4 pregnancies. I also teach these in all the pre/post natal yoga classes I hold, along with more traditional yoga poses.

the joy of pregnancy

All exercises are to be performed lying down, preferably in bed after a nap (yes, you read that correctly, exercising while lying in bed).  They are gentle enough to be performed up to delivery, and will help you regain your regular body afterwards. I started doing them the day after delivery and continued until I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight (for the last one it took an entire year). Give them a try and tell me what you think.

 1. Ankle Rotations

Rotate ankles in large circles.  20x in each direction

 2. Ankle Alphabet

Write the alphabet (A-Z) with your toes, both feet together 

3. Cross Legged Squeeze

Cross one ankle over the other, legs extended.  Squeeze the entire leg together tight.  Pulse to 100, hold last one for 10 slow counts.  Repeat with other leg on top

4. Inner Thigh Squeeze

Place soles of the feet on the floor, knees bent and together. Place a pillow between your inner thighs if it helps.  Squeeze the inner thigh together for 100 pulses, hold last one for 10 slow counts 

5. Pelvic Tilt

Each of the four positions tilt 20x, hold last one for a slow 10.  This is a pelvic exercise not a mid back or abdominal exercise.  Move your pelvis, contract your buttocks.

1)            knees out, feet out

2)            knees in, feet out

3)            knees in, feet in

4)            knees out, feet in

6. The Belt

With knees bent, soles of the feet on the floor, imagine a belt around your waist.  On an exhale, tighten the belt, pulling your ribs to your hip bones and flattening your lower back on to the floor.  Inhale release.  Repeat.  Work up to repeating 10 times.  Advanced – Hold the belt tight for two slow breaths each time.

 7. Arm Press

Extend your arms in front of you at shoulder height, palms together.  Squeeze the palms together, pulse 100x, hold for 10.

 8. Kegel – The Wave

Contract the muscles around your anus, your vagina, then your urethra, moving from back to front.  Slowly release reversing movement.  Repeat 50x. Think lift 1, 2, 3, release 3, 2, 1.  Keep the motion slow, hold for a breath at the deepest contraction, release slowly & completely. Then reverse moving from front to back (urethra, vagina, anus).  Repeat 50x. 

 9. Kegel – Elevator

Contract your pelvic floor muscles (see above).  Lift inward and upward toward your belly.  Imagine you are riding up an elevator.  First floor, second, third, fourth, fifth, and back down to the first floor.  Repeat 100x.  On the last one get off in the basement.

There you have it. 9 highly effective exercises for pre-post natal fitness. Do these every day, maybe even twice daily, and you’ll be firm and fit in no time. If you enjoyed these wonderful, lying in bed exercises, subscribe to my RSS feed or via e-mail. I will be posting yoga poses for pregnancy in an upcoming post so stay tuned.

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